Propane Veins
by DieForBeauty
Summary: Sookie and Bill's relationship is slowly edging towards a dangerous crossroads. While she debates if the relationship is worth the heartache, she finds solace in an unlikely, constant source; Eric Northman.


There were very few things that caught Sookie Stackhouse off guard these days. She'd already seen dead bodies dropping like flies, not to mention witnessed cold blooded murders at the hands of the people she considered closest to her. Saving her vampire boyfriend Bill from Drainers a few months back was just another day at the office for her, though she would have preferred the comfortable atmosphere of Merlotte's full-time instead of all the vampire business.

Nonetheless she was thoroughly shocked to see Eric Northman standing outside of her door with a slight smirk on his face. Eric was the closest thing to a boss she had while working in the vampire world. She'd rather not be involved in business arrangements with supernatural beings, but she was already in too deep.

Sookie debated for a moment or two, wondering if she should even answer the door, but she silently chided herself for even considering doing that; her grandmother would have had a fit if she knew her reluctance to help a guest, even if he was a guest that could suck the blood from her body. Some small part in her head reminded her that her grandmother was dead and wouldn't notice if Sookie neglected her manners. She pushed that painful, little voice aside.

She slowly unlocked the door and was face to face with the Sheriff of Area Five. This fact probably should have been frightening, but it just annoyed her.

"Eric." She greeted coolly.

"Ah, Sookie." He spoke cordially, flashing a toothy smile. "What a surprise."

_Surprise? He was the one outside of my door; who'd he expect? Aretha Franklin?_, Sookie thought, irritated. She bit her lip slightly, holding those words back, not wanting to create yet another problem for Bill.

Eric took a grand step forward, moving his whole frame to loom over Sookie, in a somewhat menacing way, as if ready to ransack her home. But she knew better.

"You can't come in." Sookie pointed out, thankful that she had rescinded his invitation to enter inside only last week after a particularly nasty argument between the two of them.

It was still difficult not to feel intimidated by Eric's tall, built body. He had been, after all, a Viking in his time, seasoned in brute battle and pillaging villages. Taking women by force was certainly part of his skill-set though Sookie seriously doubted that he ever had to compel a woman to sleep with him.

She shuddered glancing at his muscled arms; they were obvious even in the simple black T-shirt he was wearing. It was an understated outfit for Eric, even with the red _Fangtasia _logo in script writing printed on it. It was never a bad time to get some advertising in.

Sookie looked from his chiseled chest, which was almost eye level because of their respective height differences, and followed the trail up from his throat, to his face, finally taking in those powerful eyes of his.

"And I so wish I could," Eric spoke, eyes gleaming with lust. "You seem a little tense. I could change that in one night."

Subtle was definitely not Eric's style.

Sookie shivered mostly panicked, but there was also a twinge of longing his words brought out in her that she couldn't control. His presence, though he terrified her, never failed to give her butterflies… or sensations lower. It was a confusing storm of emotions that was probably due to the fact that Sookie had accidently drank blood from Eric once, one of his many stage tricks to get her into bed.

His eyes boring into hers, Eric continued, "Aren't you going to invite me in?" If she didn't know any better, Sookie would have thought he was trying to glamour her.

He reached a hand out to her as if to stroke the side of her cheek, but he couldn't cross the doorway. Sookie, however, suddenly wanted to feel the touch of his cool skin on hers. It looked so perfect. So smooth. So tempting.

Sookie unexpectedly got a mental image of what it would be like taking Eric as a lover; his strong body over hers, thrusting relentlessly while she screamed his name in ecstasy, digging her nails into his back…

She shivered again, shaking the day dream away as quickly as it had come. Her body, on the other hand, wasn't recovering as fast as her mind. "No." She answered firmly as her knees trembled slightly.

A knowing smile appeared on his face; he had noticed her long pause before answering. She hoped he couldn't tell what she had been thinking about only mere seconds before. The way Eric's eyes smoldered, she suspected that he must have sensed it somehow.

_I really have to lay off of the caffeine_, she told herself, silently scolding herself for having over three cups of coffee this morning. But when you date a vampire and stay up for half of the night, what do you expect? Maybe a side-effect to the beverage was detailed, X-rated thoughts of vampires. She'd have to read the label.

And suddenly her aforementioned boyfriend appeared out of the woods and strolled across the clearing in front of her house. That was pretty good timing, but Sookie wouldn't have minded if Bill had shown up and intercepted Eric before he'd come to her home. Somehow Eric appearing at her residence was disconcerting, and not to mention a liberty she wished he didn't feel entitled to take.

Bill nodded a stiff greeting towards Eric, walking past the threshold and standing behind Sookie; she couldn't deliberately rescind her boyfriend's invitation to her home even if he did never bring her flowers.

"Bill," Eric said looking amused. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to make use of Sookie tonight."

"She is _mine_." Bill spoke forcefully, trying very hard to control his emotions in the early moonlight. His body was tense and his hand was clenched in a fist, the pressure making his skin look whiter than usual.

Eric only laughed at Bill's attempt at showing possession. He watched Sookie like a skilled hunter that had just found the perfect prey, while commenting in a casual tone, "Saying it doesn't really make it true."

Sookie's heart skipped a beat. Was there anyway Eric could have known that her relationship with Bill was edging closer to turmoil? No, she concluded, he was just trying to get under her skin.

"_Our _rules say it does." Bill pointed out fiercely.

Laughing joyously again, Eric said, "I have to deal with some humans."

He wanted Sookie for business not pleasure… at least for tonight.

Both Bill and Eric looked at her, waiting for her answer. Sookie knew even if she refused to go, Bill would have to follow Eric's orders and bring her anyway. It was part of the respect instilled in the vampire societal hierarchy. Fighting was useless.

She sighed loudly. "I'll go change." Her Merlotte's uniform, no matter how comfortable, would be out of place for a night with vampires. There was no use risking danger for Sam's bar at any level, no matter was in store for her tonight.

As she closed herself and Bill inside, Sookie got a sudden and utterly startling surge of delight at the thought of seeing Eric again so soon. Tonight _was _full of surprises.


End file.
